How this page is written, and a conflict of interest
Allen Markel is a REALTOR® with Texas Premier Realty. He is paid a commission when a home he sells closes, and the commission is paid from the sale proceeds. That includes a sale that goes through an iBuyer or a cash buyer when he is the agent. On other routes, such as an owner selling straight to a company without an agent, he earns less or nothing. That is a real conflict of interest, and it is the reason this page shows the arithmetic and the sources. Commission is negotiable, never set by law, and the rate on any sale is agreed in writing between a seller and the broker.
The page does not rank companies and makes no claim about how any named company will treat a particular home. Where a company is named, the statement comes from that company's own page or from a government source, and it is dated.
Which path fits? How Allen helps the owner compare
Allen already has access to these options: iBuyers, cash buyers and market-value cash offers, through the platforms and trusted partners he works with, as well as a traditional listing. Allen already works with these buyers and partners, so the owner does not have to search for them or take a chance on a stranger.
A real estate agent like Allen Markel helps the owner work out which path fits: a traditional sale, a cash offer or an iBuyer. The goal is to protect the owner's interest and keep as much of the money from the home as possible.
Allen has resources ready: cash buyers, investors and traditional-sale marketing. Depending on what the owner needs, whether that is speed, top dollar or something in between, he can line up different options. In some situations a sale can close in as little as one to two weeks. That is not a promise of a price or a timeline, and many sales take longer.
“I tell you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear. I give you the framework so you can choose what's best for you and your family.”
This page does not say one path beats another. It gives the framework for choosing, and the sections below compare the paths side by side.
The ways to sell, side by side
| Route | How it works | Speed | Money | Fits when | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional listing | List with an agent, show the home, negotiate with buyers who usually use a mortgage. | Weeks to months from listing to closing | Usually the highest sale price. Pays a commission, closing costs and any prep. | There is time, the home is in sellable shape and the goal is the highest net. | Showings, inspection repairs, a buyer's financing falling through, carrying costs while waiting. |
| List as-is | A traditional listing that tells buyers the seller will not make repairs. | Similar to a listing | Buyers usually price in the condition. Seller pays commission and closing costs but not repair bills. | The home needs work and the seller wants the market's input, not a single offer. | Texas disclosure rules still apply. Buyers can still inspect and negotiate. |
| Investor cash offer | A buyer (an investor or an offer exchange) pays cash, usually after an inspection, for the home in its current condition. | Often a few weeks or less | Typically below the price a listing could bring. No commission on the buyer side, fewer closing steps. | Speed and certainty matter most: a sale date, an inherited home, heavy repairs. | Offers vary a lot. Get more than one, read the contract, ask what can change the price after inspection. |
| iBuyer (instant offer) | A company's pricing model makes an offer, then a visit sets repair credits, and a service charge comes out at closing. | A close date the seller picks, often within a few weeks to two months | A service charge plus repair credits plus closing costs come out of the offer. | Certainty and convenience matter, and the home fits the company's criteria. | The first number is not the final number. Not every home or market qualifies. |
| Sell and stay (short rent-back) | A normal sale, with the seller renting the home from the buyer for a short time after closing, using the TREC Seller's Temporary Residential Lease. | Up to 90 days of occupancy under the TREC form | Same price as the underlying sale, minus the cost of rent. | The seller needs time to move after closing. | A lender can limit or refuse post-closing occupancy. |
| Sell and stay (long-term lease-back) | Sell to an investor and rent the home back for a longer term, sometimes with an option to buy it back. | Varies by company | Cash now, then rent and the repurchase terms. | Rarely. Some sellers need equity and time at once. | Read every term. Consumer-protection agencies and the press have documented harm from some long-term sale-leaseback companies. Have an attorney read it. |
| Buy before you sell | Use a trade-in program, a bridge loan or a contingent offer to line up the next home first. | Tied to the next purchase | Fees for the program or the loan. | The next purchase and this sale have to line up. | Costs and the terms of each program. |
| Owner financing | The seller acts as the lender to the buyer and receives payments over time. | Depends on finding a buyer | Interest earned over time, plus the sale price. | The seller does not need all the cash now. | Texas licensing and loan rules. Needs an attorney. |
| Rent it out first | Lease the home and sell later. | Open-ended | Rent now, sale later, with landlord duties in between. | The market or the numbers favor waiting. | Taxes, repairs, a tenant in place at sale time. |
| Auction | Sell at an auction. | Fixed date | Set by whoever bids that day. | Seldom the right choice for a seller with time. | No control over price. See the auction page. |
The comparison that matters: what the seller keeps
A headline price is not what a seller keeps. The simplest honest comparison is the net. Here is the same invented $350,000 home through four routes. Every assumption is in the table, and none of them is a market average.
| Traditional listing | iBuyer, offer at full value | iBuyer, offer 5% below value | Investor cash at 85% of value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $350,000 | $350,000 | $332,500 | $297,500 |
| Commission / service charge | -$17,500 (5%, negotiable) | -$17,500 (5%) | -$17,500 (5%) | none |
| Repairs / credits | -$3,000 (prep) | -$5,000 | -$5,000 | none (as-is) |
| Title policy and closing costs | -$5,515 (title policy plus 1%) | -$7,000 (2%) | -$7,000 (2%) | -$2,015 (title policy) |
| Seller keeps (before any mortgage) | $323,985 | $320,500 | $303,000 | $295,485 |
What real data says about the gap. In 2022 the FTC alleged that Opendoor's offers were, on average, below market, that sellers were paying for repairs they would not otherwise have paid for, and that most of its sellers made thousands of dollars less than they would have selling traditionally. Opendoor settled for $62 million and is under a 20-year order that bars unsubstantiated claims about seller proceeds and costs. A 2026 analysis by Clever Real Estate of 409 Opendoor and 123 Offerpad transactions found offers averaging about 8.8 percent and about 13.9 percent below the eventual resale price, but a resale price is not the market value on the day of the offer, and Clever is a company that earns money referring sellers to agents.
Opendoor's own pages say the service charge varies by market and property, that the final offer can be lower after the home assessment, and that a seller picks a close date 21 to 60 days out. They also say a traditional agent's commission is often cited at 5 to 6 percent. The page notes that fees and terms may differ today. In short, the offer's own line items are the numbers to read.
Use your own numbers in the Seller Net Sheet calculator and the Holding Cost calculator.
When a cash offer or an iBuyer is the right answer
A cash sale or an instant offer can be the better choice. These are the situations where it often is:
- A hard date. A foreclosure or tax-sale date, a job start or a closing on the next home leaves no room for weeks of showings.
- Condition. Roof, foundation or system problems that would cost more or take longer than a seller wants to handle.
- Certainty. A buyer with cash and no loan to approve removes the risk that financing falls through.
- Distance or effort. An inherited home, a seller out of state, or a seller who cannot manage showings.
- Privacy. No signs, no open houses, no strangers touring the home.
A traditional listing tends to be the better choice when there is time, the home is in good shape, and the market has buyers. The gap between routes is wider on some homes and narrower on others, and the only way to know is to compare the actual offers.
Before anyone signs, a real estate agent who works with these situations, like Allen Markel, can help check an offer's line items and any notice or deadline against the official record.
How an agent helps weigh the choices
Comparing routes is work. These are the steps an agent can take, whichever route wins:
- Get a price from recent sales. What a home would likely bring on the open market, from nearby closings.
- Collect the offers side by side. A listing estimate, an iBuyer offer, and one or more investor cash offers, each with its line items.
- Read the terms, not just the price. Option period, earnest money, who pays what, what can change the price after inspection, the closing date.
- Add what the headline leaves out. Months of mortgage, taxes and upkeep for a listing. Repair credits and service charges for an offer.
- Compare the net and the risk. The dollars left, the days to close, and the odds the deal does not close.
- Say what fits, even when it pays less. If a cash offer is the better answer, say so.
Allen's site describes two cash routes. A Quick Cash Offer for speed, and a Market Value Cash Offer that starts with a floor and lets buyers compete. The pages explain the terms and the trade-offs. Allen represents the seller, not the buyer, and the commission is disclosed in writing before a seller signs anything.
Six questions that sort the options
- How many days until the money is needed?
- What would a listing net, after commission, closing costs and repairs?
- What do the offers net, after every line item?
- How much would repairs cost, and how long would they take?
- How much does it cost to wait each month, in mortgage, taxes, insurance and upkeep?
- Which route has the least risk of falling apart?